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The Altoona Curve will close out the home portion of their 2007 season with an eight game homestand comprised of two four game series

Altoona will take on the:-
------------Harrisburg Senators - Thursday August 23rd to Sunday August 26th, and the
------------Reading Phillies - Monday August 27th to Thursday August 30th

The Result
Senators - 6 runs to 3

The Curve - Year-to-Date
67 wins and 64 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
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Playing
Batting - #

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
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At the end of the Game
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Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Harrisburg Senators used a five-run second inning to build an early lead and went on to earn a 6-3 win over the Curve in Sunday's series finale at Blair County Ballpark

The two clubs split their final four meetings of the season in the series

With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Altoona (67-64) remains 6-1/2 games behind E.L. South wild-card leader Akron, which lost its game Sunday afternoon at Reading

The Curve grabbed a first-inning lead against Harrisburg starter Justin Jones, when Russ Johnson knocked in Jason Bowers with a sacrifice fly to right

However, the Senators quickly took the lead with a five spot against Altoona starter Dewon Brazelton

Brazelton (4-5) worked six innings in the game, allowing the five second-inning runs on a final total of eight hits
The right-hander dropped his second consecutive decision

Meanwhile, the left-hander Jones, who was making only his second Double-A start of the season after spending most the year at Class-A Potomac, cruised to the win after allowing three runs over six innings
Jones (1-0) struck out six and did not walk a batter

The Curve got as close as 5-3 after scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles by Johnson and Jason Delaney, but the Senators picked up an insurance tally in the top of the eighth against reliever Jose Paniagua to close the scoring

Brett Campbell worked a perfect bottom of the ninth to notch his ninth save of the season

The Curve will play their final four regular season home games this week against the Reading Phillies
The first pitch for Monday's series opener is set for 7.05pm
Altoona will send righty Luis Munoz (10-5, 4.04) to the mound against Reading right-hander Chris Rojas (6-3, 4.80)

It took more than three months, but left-hander Justin Jones finally got a second chance with the Harrisburg Senators
And it paid off, as Jones fired six strong innings to lift the Senators to a 6-3 victory over Altoona at Blair County Ballpark Sunday night in Harrisburg's final road game of the season

The Senators (50-83) and Curve (67-64) split the four-game Eastern League series, and now Harrisburg closes its season with an eight-game homestand beginning tonight against Erie

Jones (1-0), who started for the Senators on May 19 but spent most of the season at Class A Potomac, struck out six without a walk in six innings
He allowed three runs on seven hits

Right-hander Beltran Perez was promoted to Class AAA Columbus before Sunday's game to make room on the roster for Jones, 22, who'd won three of his last four outings with Potomac

After spotting Altoona a 1-0 lead, the Senators seized control with a five-run outburst in the second
Sheldon Fulse, Ofilio Castro and Roger Bernadina doubled, and Brandon Powell capped things with a two-run single off former first-round draft pick Dewon Brazelton (4-5)

Brazelton, 27, was the third overall pick by Tampa Bay in the 2001 draft behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer and Mark Prior of the Cubs

After Jones retired 10 straight starting in the second inning, the Curve got to him in the sixth, using RBI singles by Russ Johnson and Jason Delaney to pull within two, 5-3

But the tandem of David Trahan and Brett Campbell shut down Altoona the rest of the way

Campbell earned his team-high ninth save with a perfect ninth

Castro (3-for-4) added his second RBI double in the eighth to produce the final tally

Marco Yepez also added three hits in four at-bats for the Senators

Notes
Harrisburg finished 24-47 on the road, but won or split its last four road series
Bernadina stole his team-high 39th base
1B Josh Whitesell missed his third straight game and is day-to-day with an unspecified injury - he's battled back problems his entire career
Perez (6-6, 4.37 ERA) had been Harrisburg's best starter over the last month, going 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA in his previous five starts
Jones was 7-8 with a 3.96 ERA at Potomac, plus 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two early season starts at Class A Hagerstown

There’s little question the Curve won’t be making the playoffs this season, so the big question now is what kind of team will Altoona field next year

At this point, there’s no way to know for sure

The Pirates have key decisions to make in their front office, and those decisions will have a major impact on the Curve going forward
The Bucs are looking for a new CEO and may or may not retain general manager Dave Littlefield and manager Jim Tracy
If Littlefield, in particular, goes, all bets are off concerning the Pirates’ player development personnel
His replacement could clean house, which may include dumping farm director Brian Graham, who has been more instrumental than anyone in the Curve’s on-field success over the years

Curve manager Tim Leiper wants to be back in Altoona for a third season, but he and many others have no clue right now about their status in the organization
‘‘I’d love to be back here for many, many reasons’’ Leiper said after the Curve’s 6-3 loss Sunday night to Harrisburg before 6,815 fans at Blair County Ballpark
‘‘I like it here, I love the organization, I love the people around the organization’’

It’s been a frustrating season at times for Leiper’s team, which trails second-place Akron by 6-1/2 games in the playoff race with only 11 contests remaining

‘‘I don’t know how much the fans right now want me back, and I say that kiddingly’’ the charismatic manager said
‘‘But I love it here
And I kind of want to finish what I started here and bring a championship here’’

If Leiper is back next year, he could be hard-pressed getting the Curve’s first Eastern League championship
The prospect pool appears as dry as ever for next season, with no Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker or Steven Pearce around to lead the club

Looking at the Curve’s lineup Sunday night, the only starter who’s almost certain to be back in 2008 is first baseman Jason Delaney

The rest of the lineup featured a hodgepodge of minor league free agents thrown together late to try and keep the Curve competitive down the stretch
Most of them will not return next season

There’s also not much help coming up from Single-A Lynchburg, which is 53-69

‘‘It’s tough to tell now’’ Delaney said when asked what next year’s team may look like
‘‘I’m sure that they’re going to put a competitive team here
They always do’’

That’s been the case under Graham, who has said numerous times he wants Altoona to have a winner and consistently has signed quality free agents to help that cause
But if Graham becomes a casualty of the Bucs’ front office overhaul, there’s no telling how much the new farm director will care about winning in Double-A

In short, there’s a possibility next season could be a rough one for the Curve

Delaney said the players follow the goings-on with the Pirates ‘‘a little bit’’
‘‘It’s in the back of your head’’ he added ‘‘because a lot of guys came up with this brass in place, these executives in place, and we’ll see how it all plays out
That’s part of the game is no one’s job is ever safe - mine or the guy at the other end of the clubhouse or the people up in the front office with the big leagues’’

Leiper and his staff - pitching coach Ray Searage and hitting coach Brandon Moore - have been with the Curve for two seasons
The manager would like to see his coaches get bigger opportunities, but he also wouldn’t mind having the entire staff return in 2008
‘‘These guys are friends’’ Leiper said of the organization’s personnel
‘‘It’s just not like guys that are running a business
I go back with Dave
He was the one who hired me in Montreal
And Brian’s a guy I’ve known since he played with my brother back in 1984
These guys are all friends, and we’re all in this together’’

For now, at least

‘‘You worry about what’s going on, but at the same time, you take care of your team’’ Leiper said
‘‘In the offseason - that’s when you start to focus on what the future holds and all that stuff’’

Game Notes
Harrisburg scored five runs in the second inning off Dewon Brazelton (4-5) to take control
The Curve, who got a run in the first, pulled with 5-3 in the sixth on RBI singles by Delaney and Russ Johnson but got no closer
Senators starter Justin Jones (1-0), just up from Single-A, gave up three runs in six innings for the win
Brett Campbell earned his ninth save for Harrisburg